The State Forestry Corps (

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

: ''Corpo forestale dello Stato'' or ''CFS'') was a national police agency in Italy. It was established on 15 October 1822 by

Charles Felix of Sardinia Charles Felix (; 6 April 1765 – 27 April 1831) was the Duke of Savoy, Piedmont, Aosta and King of Sardinia from 1821 to 1831. Early life Charles Felix was born in Turin as the eleventh child and fifth son born to Victor Amadeus III of ...

as Amministrazione forestale per la custodia e la vigilanza dei boschi. The five Italian autonomous regions have their own corps of forestry police under regional or provincial control (''Corpo forestale regionale/provinciale''), which have not been disbanded. CFS was dissolved on December 31, 2016, and all personnel become militarized and absorbed by the

Carabinieri The Carabinieri (, also , ; formally ''Arma dei Carabinieri'', "Arm of Carabineers"; previously ''Corpo dei Carabinieri Reali'', "Royal Carabineers Corps") are the national gendarmerie of Italy who primarily carry out domestic and foreign polic ...

's Comando unità per la tutela forestale, ambientale e agroalimentare.

Mission

The CFS had police powers and acted as a

park ranger A ranger, park ranger, park warden, or forest ranger is a law enforcement person entrusted with protecting and preserving parklands – national, state, provincial, or local parks. Description "Parks" may be broadly defined by some systems in thi ...

force responsible for protecting Italy's

natural resource Natural resources are resources that are drawn from nature and used with few modifications. This includes the sources of valued characteristics such as commercial and industrial use, aesthetic value, scientific interest and cultural value. O ...

s, the environment, countryside and ecosystems, especially national parks and national forests. It also acted as a criminal investigative department and as a typical police force. Its specialist duties included arresting

poachers Poaching has been defined as the illegal hunting or capturing of wild animals, usually associated with land use rights. Poaching was once performed by impoverished peasants for subsistence purposes and to supplement meager diets. It was set a ...

, investigating environmental violations,

illegal building Illegal construction (also known as illegal building or illegal housing) is construction work (or the result of such) without a valid construction permit. Besides the potential technical hazards on uncontrolled construction sites and in finishe ...

, counterfeit foods, safeguarding protected animal species, enforcing

endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inv ...

laws, and preventing and fighting

wildfire A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire ...

s through 15 regional commands and its fleet of 22 fire-fighting aircraft. It had responsibility for managing activities related to the

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species CITES (shorter name for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, also known as the Washington Convention) is a multilateral treaty to protect endangered plants and animals from the threats of interna ...

in Italy.

Organization

The CFS was an agency under the

jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, areas of jurisdiction apply to local, state, and federal levels. Jur ...

of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry. It was part of the Direzione Investigativa Antimafia (DIA) (Anti-Mafia Investigation Department). The CFS was also responsible for civil protection in Italy's mountain areas and for

disaster relief Emergency management or disaster management is the managerial function charged with creating the framework within which communities reduce vulnerability to hazards and cope with disasters. Emergency management, despite its name, does not actuall ...

. If necessary, the CFS could also be used in tasks of public order in the city and any urban context.

Regional Corps

The autonomous forestry corps of the special statute regions have not been suppressed, and are active in Sicily, Sardinia, Val d'Aosta, Friuli Venezia Giulia and Trentino Alto Adige.

Corporate profile

The CFS's

emergency telephone number Most public switched telephone networks have a single emergency telephone number (sometimes known as the universal emergency telephone number or the emergency services number) that allows a caller to contact local emergency services for assista ...

for reporting forest fires was 1515. The CFS's vehicle

livery A livery is an identifying design, such as a uniform, ornament, symbol or insignia that designates ownership or affiliation, often found on an individual or vehicle. Livery will often have elements of the heraldry relating to the individual or ...

was green with a white stripe and the words ''Corpo Forestale dello Stato'' in white along the side. The vehicle plates began with the letters "CFS" in red.

Rank insignia

References

External links

Official website
(in Italian) Corpo Forestale dello Stato

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

Defunct law enforcement agencies of Italy {{forestry-agency-stub